Gain Experience and Develop Marketable Skills
Ways to Gain Experience
Participate in Extracurricular Activities
Take a Class
The activities you engage in outside of your
academic coursework can be more than just fun. They
are an excellent way to explore your career-related
interests and develop many skills you will be able
to transfer later to any job. If you think you may be
interested in working with children, the elderly, a
housing authority, etc., check out the volunteer options
available in your community. If newspaper writing is
a possible career choice, consider joining the staff
of your campus newspaper. If you like to lead people
and projects, consider getting involved with student
government. Check out clubs.psu.edu for a complete
listing of student organizations. There are hundreds
of extracurricular activi­ties in which you can become
involved. Additionally, the contributions you make to
an activity, whether it is leading meet­ings, chairing
a committee, developing a project, recruiting new
members, or organizing a conference, can be related
to many potential future employment goals.
One easy way to get a feel for a career area is to
take an academic course that will give an overview of
the field. If you think that you might be interested in a
business career, consider taking a course in accounting,
finance, marketing, etc. If you think you’d like to do
human service work, enroll in some health and human
development, psychology, or sociology courses. The
more you get involved in the course through individual
projects, group work, and research papers, the more
you will gain.
Career Planning Courses
Various career development courses are offered across
the Penn State system, such as:
•
•
•
•
•
Effective Career Decision-Making (CN ED 100)
Preparation for Career Management (B A 420)
Job Search Skills and Strategies for
Educators (CN ED 303)
Job Search Skills and Strategies for
Technical Careers (AG 100/SC 101)
Job Search Skills and Strategies for
Non-Technical Careers (L A 401)
Topics include selecting an academic major, determining career goals, iden­tifying potential employers, formulating effective job search strategies, preparing a
resume, and improving interview techniques. Please
consult the Schedule of Courses at schedule.psu.edu for
availability by campus and semester.
Study Abroad
While most students consider study abroad an
exciting way to incorporate travel into an academic
program, it’s also a great way to gain experience.
Think of the skills you may learn: navigating a foreign
country, complete with new currency and cultural
norms; a sense of independence as you explore on
your own, thousands of miles away from home; an
appreciation of diversity as you are challenged to
integrate your background and upbringing with those
from other cultures. Not to mention the initiative it
took for you to plan and execute such a significant
event.
Volunteer
Many nonprofit organizations will enthusiastically
accept the services of an industrious, cheerful, and
interested volunteer. Becoming a volunteer shows
a potential employer that you have initiative and a
commitment to your community. Find organizations
that you can relate to – connecting through personal
values or professional aspirations – and give it your
all. Not only will you give back to your community,
but you will gain experience and make long-lasting
networking contacts.
Join a Sports Team
Don’t underestimate your involvement in physical
activity as being related to your future career goals.
Being a member of a sports team, whether intramural,
club or Division I, will help you develop many skills
that employers are seeking: time management to
balance courses with practices and games; work ethic
to continually improve your performance; adaptability
to constantly adjust your game plan; and, of course,
don’t forget the obvious, teamwork.
Look for Summer Jobs/Part-Time Work/
Temping
Summer jobs may not be obviously related to
your long-term career goals; however, they may still
be beneficial in providing income and/or employment.
Some students may need to work in jobs that provide
decent wages such as construction, sales, or hospitality
services.
19
In these situations, you can develop skills
transferable to professional careers after college. For
example, a server could benefit from acquiring expe­
rience in training other employees in a restaurant or
customer service skills.
Explore Undergraduate Research
Opportunities
Penn State offers a variety of oppor­tunities for
undergraduate students to participate in research
projects. These experiences allow you to work with
faculty and staff in your area of interest, build specific
skills, and further explore your career options. Check
with an advisor in your academic department to see
what type of research is being conducted or go to
undergradresearch.psu.edu to review projects listed
by academic college and depart­
ment. If you are
considering graduate school, helping out in a lab is a
great way to get introduced to what may be expected
when you continue your education. You will gain a
deeper understanding of the research process, as well
as knowledge of cutting edge developments within
your field.
Apply for Experiential Internships or
Cooperative Education
Internships are intended to provide professional
experience related to your major and/or career plans.
Internships may be for credit and/or paid and vary in
length. Many internships are offered for one semester
or over the summer, although some may provide more
lengthy experiences by spanning a summer and an
additional semester.
Because of the size and diversity of academic
programs at Penn State, resources for assisting
students in obtaining internships can be quite varied.
Most academic departments and colleges have specific
internship offices. Be sure to check with your academic
college/department to identify the resources and
programs in place.
Cooperative education is often confused with
internships since it, too, provides professional relevant
experience. However, cooperative education differs
from internships in that it is an alter­
nating work
experience blended into the academic program,
typically within the science and engineering disciplines.
Therefore, a student will leave the University multiple
times during the baccalaureate degree program to
obtain cooperative experi­ence with an employer.
Workshops and Seminars
Several hundred seminars and outreach programs
are offered each year on a wide range of topics such
as career planning, resume writing, interview skills,
job and internship search strategies, and graduate
school applications. Workshops are posted on Career
Services’ website as they are offered.
Also, Career Services staff members respond to
requests for programs from student organizations,
residence hall floors/areas, and faculty. If you are a
member of an organization and wish to schedule
a presentation on one of the topics above with a
focus on your organization’s career needs, simply
contact the Career Services office at 865-5131 or
careerworkshops@psu.edu.
Classes related to my areas of interest:
Organizations I am in or would like to join:
Other opportunities I’d like to explore:
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indicated its importance. (See Figure 38.) Problem-solving skills, written communication skills, and teamwork are also
highly sought after.
Figure 38: Attributes employers seek on a candidate’s resume
80.6%
%
75.3%
%
LLeadership
d hi
74.7%
74.2%
%
Communnicicat
Communication
atition
io skills
(written)
Ability
Abilit to
t workk in
i a team
t
67.2%
7.2%
66.7%
%
Problem-solving
P bl
l i skills
kill
72.0%
%
73.1%
%
30 | Job Outlook 2013 | National Association of Colleges and Employers
Analytical/quantitative
nalytical
al/q
l/qua
/quant
ntitative
k ll
skills
64.5%
4.5%
%
Communication
ommunnicicat
atition
io skills
(verbal)
Strong workk ethic
St
thi
64.0%
4.0%
%
57.5%
.5%
Initiative
I iti ti
.5%
%
57.5%
What sets two equally qualified candidates apart? Figure 39 reaffirms the fact that employers are looking for leaders.
Holding a leadership positionCComputer
andt having
theTechnical
influence ratings by employers
skills
kill
T right
h i l skills
killmajor continually
DDetail-oriented
t il i t d receive
Flexibility/adaptability
ibilit /the
d t highest
bilit
deciding between two equally qualified candidates.
33.3%
%
57.0%
.0%
%
49.5%
%
%
32.8%
This year, NACE added fluency in a foreign language and experience studying abroad to its list of attributes. Since not
quite one-third of respondents reported that they recruit new college graduates for positions outside the United States,
Interpersonal
erper
errso
son
ona
nal sk
nal
skills
Friendly/outgoing
dl
Strategic
the importance ratings for these
two
attributes
fall
end of the scale.
Moreover, the responses from the
t well
ll to
t others)
th
)
ti on
l ability
bilitthe lower
(relates
Organizational
personality
planning skills
employers that do recruit for positions outside the United States shows the ratings only increase minimally. The rating for
25.8%
%
25.8%
%
%
“fluency in a foreign language” bumps
up from 2.4 to 2.7, while23.7%
that
for “studying abroad” increases slightly from 2.3
to 2.6.
Creativity
Entrepreneurial
Tactfulness
skills/risk-taker
32 | Job Outlook 2013 | National Association
of Colleges and Employers
Figure 39: Influence of attributes
Attribute
2013 Average Influence Rating*
2012 Average Influence Rating*
Has held leadership position
4.0
3.9
Do new graduate recruits measure up in the eyes of employers on the skills/attributes they desire?
Major
4.0
3.9
Highwere
GPA asked
(3.0 ortoabove)
3.6scale as follows: F, D-, D,
Employers
“grade” their new recruits on3.8
skills/attributes listed below on a letter
D+,
C-,
C,
C+,
b-,
b,
b+,
A-,
A,
A+.
Numerical
values
were
assigned
from
1
through
13,
and
the results are shown in
Has been involved in extracurricular
Figure
41.
activities (clubs, sports, student
3.6
3.7
government, etc.)
For the most part, it appears that employers are satisfied with their new graduate recruits, giving grades of “b” or better
SchoolGraduates
attended appear to be hitting the mark
3.1on teamwork skills, but both verbal and
3.0 written communication
in all categories.
skills are
graded
lower.
Two
respondents
did
give
average
letter
grades
of
“D-”
and
“D”
to
their
new recruits for their
Has done volunteer work
2.8
3.1
written communication skills. In addition, the work ethic and initiative categories each received one grade of “D+.”
Is fluent in a foreign language1
2.4
N/A
Also important
in employers’
specifically related-work experience. N/A
less than 5 percent of
Has studied
abroad1eyes is work experience, 2.3
respondents report that work experience doesn’t factor into their hiring decisions for new college graduates, and more
1
not included
in prior
years’ surveys.
than 70 percent prefer relevant workAttribute
experience.
(See Figure
42.)
*5-point scale, where 1=No influence at all, 2=Not much influence, 3=Somewhat of an influence,
4=very much influence, and 5=Extreme influence.
Figure 42: Employers’ hiring preferences relative to experience, by percent of respondents
Hiring Preference
2013
2012
2011
I prefer to hire candidates with relevant work experience
71.0%
73.7%
72.4%
I prefer to hire candidates with any type of work
experience (doesn’t matter if it’s relevant or not, just
some type of experience)
19.9%
17.5%
17.6%
Work experience doesn’t typically factor into my decision
when hiring a new college graduate
4.8%
4.1%
5.3%
Other
4.3%
4.6%
4.7%
Reprinted from Job Outlook 2013, with permission of the National
Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder. Figure 43: Employers’ preference for work experience,
by percent of respondents
Digging deeper
into employers’
preference for work
experience, close
to 60 percent of
21